McCleskey v. Kemp

McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279 (1987), is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court death-penalty decision concerning racial-disparity evidence in capital sentencing.

Background

The case reached the Supreme Court through a capital prosecution and required the justices to define how constitutional protections apply when a state seeks or carries out a death sentence. It sits within the modern line of cases interpreting the Eighth Amendment and, where relevant, the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Supreme Court ruling

Statistical evidence of racial disparities in Georgia capital sentencing did not, without proof of discriminatory purpose in the individual case, establish a constitutional violation.

Why it matters

The decision became part of the operating constitutional framework for American capital punishment. Later courts, defense lawyers, prosecutors and corrections agencies have had to account for its rule when evaluating death eligibility, sentencing procedure or execution protocols.

Citation

481 U.S. 279 (1987) — decided 1987-04-22.

Sources

– U.S. Supreme Court — McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279 (1987) (opinion via Justia)